When you come out with an album titled Life is Good, you don’t expect it to tackle divorce. But that was what Nas dealt with in 2012, all the way down to the album cover.
“I had a pretty public divorce. They’re not easy, divorces. And it took me a long time to really get through. The album cover gives you that; it gives you what’s been happening with me, what’s been happening during my break from solo albums. I bring you up to speed with where I’m at,” Nas told NPR in 2012.
“And there it is,” he added, “actually not her entire dress because it probably would not have fit in the picture because it was so big, but it was part of her dress, the part that she had left behind.”
Naturally, an album like Marvin Gaye’s Here, My Dear would be an immediate source of inspiration. The album was ugly, messy, and devastating, a bumpy journey through the battles in court. Nas could already identify with Gaye’s artistry. Here, My Dear hit closer because he knew what that mindset felt like.
Nas Cites Marvin Gaye As a Huge Inspiration for ‘Life is Good’
“I thought it was crazy that entertainers — it’s hard to find that woman because there’s so many women being thrown at us and there’s that trust thing there,” the Illmatic MC said. “Of course, we’re artists, and we need someone with compatible wit, and finding that is not always easy.”
Then, he went on to give some context behind the album, how Marvin Gaye married Berry Gordy’s sister Anna. But what really stood out to him was how the soul singer decided to sing about what he was going through instead of making something easy and trendy to fulfill the divorce agreement.
“He could have took advantage of the new style of music that was hitting,” Nas explained. “Instead, what he had to do — he had his tax problems, all kinds of things — what he needed to do was give this record to her, the money from the record. But most of all, he turned the record into a record about her. I didn’t want to do that. He inspired me, so I wanted to do it my way.”
Still, Nas called the album Life is Good. He ultimately felt like, divorce, taxes, and all, he was still alive and kicking. “I was good through all of these things. I’m not trying to make a pity party for me; I’m just simply stating what was happening,” he said of making the record.
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